Railroad-signal



(No Model.)

A. BLACKBURN.

RAILROAD SIGNAL.

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ALBERT B. BLACKBURN, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

RAILROAD-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,517, dated December 23, 1884.

Applicatitn till (I April i, 1894.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALBERT B. BLACKBURN, of Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, havcinvent-ed certain Improvements in Railroad-Signals, of which lhe following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of railway-signals in which a bell is rung through the action of mechanism put in motion by a moving train.

The invention consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby the operation of the apparatus is rendered very certain, and the ringing of the hell or bells is caused to continue for a considerable time after the' train ceases'to act upon the prime mover of the mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of my improved apparatus in position by the side of a railway-track, and Fig. 2 a vertical central section of the operating-lever.

Various devices of this general character have heretofore been proposed, and no claim is made by me to the broad idea of ringing a bell through the action of a passing train. 111 my plan there is no positive or rigid connection between the bell or striker and the mechanism operated upon by the train, and as a consequence of my improvement the bell or its striker continues to move independently of its actuating mechanism for a considerable length of time after being put in motion, and without any concurrent motion of the actuating devices. The importance of this feature of construction will be apparent when it is remembered that in order to afford any considerable protection the signal must be operated some little time before the train reaches the point where the signal is located, and that it must continue to ring until the train reaches such point. If, therefore, the device he operated from a considerable distance and remain in action only while acted upon by the train,

5 there will be a dangerous interval between the time when the alarm ceases to sound and the arrival of the train. On the other hand, if not operated from a considerable distance the alarm will fail to give sutfieicnt notice to fulfill its purpose.

Referring again to the drawings, A indi- (No model.)

catesa section of railway-track, and B a rock shaft,whieh isrepresented as passing beneath the rails, but which may be placed at one side nished with a curved lever, G, to be acted upon by the passing train. The lever or arm 0 is made highest at its middle, in order that the wheels of a car, or an arm or other device carried by the car, may readily ride over it from either end for the purpose of depressing it and rocking the shaft B, to which it is secured.

D is a second arm secured to the rock-shaft B, and serving to give motion, through intermediate connecting devices, to an upright lever, E, which in turn actuates the bell-hammcr or striking device F. The hammer F consists of a spring-arn1.a, of steel or other highlyelastic material, rigidly sustained at one end and free at the other, the free end being furnished with a knob or head, I), to strike the bell I. The arm E is pivoted in a suitable standard or support, (1, and has its upper end bent or extended forward in ahorizontal plane, as shown in Figs, 1 and 2, in the form of a yoke, c, which passes completely around the spring arm a of the hammer, as shown, and serves as a guide and lateral support therefor as it vibrates. \Vhen the partsare at rest, the springarm a stands at or near the middle ofthe yoke c, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the yoke being made long enough to permit a free vibration of said arm when leverE is not in motion. Thelever E is connected by a rod, wire, or wire-cord, G, with arm D of shaft B, so that as thelatter arm (3 the leverlil will be suddenly thrown forward against the springarm a, which is thereby canscd to vibrate rapidly, the arm or lever B beinginstantly withdrawn tothe position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 by aspring, H, which may be of spiral form, and attached at one end or support (7/, in which the spring-arm a is held or sustained. As the arm E is thus restored to its vertical or normal position,the wire G is likewise drawn taut and the arm D is pulled over in the'direction of lever E, thereby causing arm 0 to be raised up ready for the action of a passing train. If deemed necessary, an additional spring may be employed for return thereof, if preferred, one of its ends being furis rocked or turned throughthe depression 01.

to the lever E and at the other end to the post ing or assisting to return the arm 0 to its elevated position, such spring being placed beneath the arm 0 or coiled about shaft 13, with one end fast thereto, and the other end attached to the block in which the shaft rotates, or like fixed body.

In carrying the wire G a considerable distance there is of course a great amount of friction produced between said wire and the guides or supports which are employed to carry it, and such friction is liable to interfere with or wholly prevent the operation of the apparatus. To overcome this difficulty and insure the easy and efficient action of thesignal, I provide a series of short posts, J, which are placed in a regular and continuous line at suitable distances apart, each being slotted at its upper end, and provided with a pulley, 0, over which the wire passes from arm D to the lever E, as shown.

In the drawingsl have represented the posts J as open or forked at their upper ends; buta passage made through the post from side to side and large enough to receive the pulley 6 may obviously be made to serve the same purpose, and is advantageous in preventing thev wire from being displaced accidentally or otherwise. In some cases it may be found desirable to carry the wire through a closed trough, in which case the pulleys may be placed at suitable intervals along its bottom.

The apparatus, being constructed as above described, is placed by the side of the track or at such point as requires to be guarded, and the lever or arm G is placed in such position as to be acted upon and depressed either by the car-wheels or by a bar or arm carried by the train, and arranged to depress the arm 0 as the train passes over it. 1

Where trains pass only in one direction over a track, it will be found convenient to operate the-arm or lever 0 directly by the wheels; but

where trains pass in both directions, to prevent the sounding of the alarnl'after thetrain has passed, it will be found advisable to set the arm 0 out of line with the wheels, and to provide a special arm or bar to depress the same. It will likewise be necessary to provide two such signaling devicesone at each side of the track-to be actuated independently by trains passing in opposite directions.

The yoke c is preferably furnished with an anti-friction roller, f, to insure an easy and cer-' tain action of the parts and prevent friction.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The herein-described signal apparatus, consisting of rock-shaft B, provided with arms 0 D, lever E, connecting wire or rod G, eX- tending from arm D to lever E, spring-arm (1, provided with hammer-head b, and wholly disconnected from lever E, and bell I, all combined and arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with a bell and an arm carrying a hammer-head to strike said bell, a lever, E, provided with a yoke to straddle the arm, and adapted to strike said arm when put in motion through the action of a passing train, and a spring, H, connected with lever E, and serving to hold it normally out of contact with the bell-striking arm, whereby said arm is permitted to vibrate freely while the lever E is at rest.

3. In combination with hell I and springarm a, provided with a hammer-head, b, lever E, provided with yoke c, and roller f, within said yoke, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with hell I and springarm a, provided with hammer-head b, lever E, provided with yoke c, substantially as shown, for the purpose explained.

ALBERT B. BLACKBURN. V XVit-nesses:

H. S. SHowERs, E. T. BUTLER. 

